Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The global crises of 2008 all relate to growth in debt, pollution and consumption reaching their limits, but will the incoming Obama administration recognize the new reality? This show discusses “Energy Realism and the Green New Deal” with Richard Heinberg of The Post Carbon Institute. Hear what message Post Carbon Institute is presenting to the incoming U.S. President.
Richard Heinberg identifies the essential axioms of sustainability and ties them to current economic trends such as the high and volatile prices of oil and other commodities. Species survival will require more than “Sustainability Lite,” a vague commitment to more environmentally benign practices, but instead an all-encompassing effort to live within the ultimate resource limits of the planet.
How much energy does a town consume? Brian Corzilius sleuthed that out for Willits, California, and got a big surprise: in this community of 13,000 people, nearly 25% of after-tax revenue leaves town to pay for energy–gas, diesel, electricity and natural gas.
Paul and Sarah Edwards are authors of a timely book Middle-Class Lifeboat: Careers and Life Choices for Navigating a Changing Economy. In a world of decreasing resources, they ask, how do we financially support ourselves while moving towards sustainable lives?
Today’s guest is scientist and financial expert Chris Martenson, here to explain how the financial crisis is a predictable outcome of a money system requiring exponential growth on a finite planet.
Utility Shut-Off Deaths Begin
For a spiffier electric grid: $11 billion
DOE report paints bleak picture of our electric future
A weekly update including:
– Prices
– Curbing emissions and consumption
Russian oil production reaches its peak
EU spending spree brings carbon capture closer to reality
UK gets biofuels research centre
Britain’s energy industry is nosediving into a dark, uncertain future
The issue of planning for and administering fuel emergencies is complex and multi-layered, involving a range of commercial interests, government agencies and a tangle of legislation, policies and jurisdictions, one of the largest and most influential of which is the International Energy Agency, an autonomous body within the framework of the OECD.
From the ASPO-USA 2008 conference: two long-standing peak oil awakeners: author James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency) and Post Carbon Institute Founder and President, Julian Darley.
Richard Heinberg, author of Powerdown, makes plain the dire situation we’re in as declining oil supplies fail to meet demand. He notes there are no easy “supply side” solutions (like substitute fuels): we must reduce demand, initially through conservation and efficiency. Julian Darley, president of Post Carbon Institute observes that while personal action is very important, individuals can only do so much.
Another Confirmation of Oil Depletion
Over the Cliff for Natural Gas in North America?
Coal in South Asia
